Location

Located on beautiful Lake Dunmore in Leicester, Vermont, we are approximately 15 minutes from Brandon (south) and Middlebury (north).

New Music On The Point sits lakeside, beneath the Green Mountains, and under a night-time sky filled with stars. There are rustic sleeping bunkbed cabins with bathrooms, showers and electricity. Sleeping cabins range in size from 4-14 campers. Practice cabins dot the woods, most with lake views. New Music On The Point uses the property of Point CounterPoint, a summer chamber music camp which has been in operation since 1963.

We are a four-hour drive from Boston and six hours from New York City. The closest airport is Burlington, VT, one hour North. Nearby train stations are Rutland, VT and Port Henry, NY – both approximately one hour’s drive from our property.

The Middlebury region is steeped in Vermont beauty, including extensive farm and orchard country and the Green Mountains. There is superb hiking nearby, from easy to moderately difficult. Fishing on Lake Dunmore is permitted with a valid license.

The area is steeped in history from three American wars, including Fort Ticonderoga, Mount Independence and the Hubbarton Battlefield. The Middlebury College Golf Course is open to the public.

Directions

New Music On The Point/Point CounterPoint Music Camp

1361 Hooker Road

Leicester, VT 05733

Driving SOUTH from Middlebury, VT on Route 7/Ethan Allen Highway turn LEFT (East) onto Route 53. After 1.3 miles, bear RIGHT onto WEST SHORE ROAD. After 1.7 miles, turn sharp LEFT onto ROGERS ROAD (becomes Hooker Road). Camp is 1.4 miles on the LEFT.

Driving NORTH from Brandon, VT. Drive 1.5 miles NORTH on Route 7. Turn RIGHT (East) onto FERN LAKE ROAD. In 1.6 miles turn LEFT (North) onto HOOKER ROAD. Camp is 1.4 miles on the RIGHT.

New Music On The Point occupies a space on Lake Dunmore that is the traditional homeland of the Abenaki peoples, part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. We recognize, support, and advocate for the Indigenous individuals and communities who live here now, and for those forcibly removed from their Homelands. With respect and gratitude, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold our festival more accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous peoples. We commit to listening to Indigenous voice and to focus on learning and healing together through music.

New Music On The Point History

In 2010, Jenny Beck, Executive Director of New Music On The Point, became aware of the contemporary music concerts at the Yale School of Music in New Haven. She had recently become director of Point CounterPoint, the chamber music camp started in 1963 by Edwin and Helen Finckel, parents of the world-renowned cellist, David Finckel. Beck was convinced that new music should be heard and celebrated, so she recruited composer Kathryn Alexander, Professor at Yale University, to co-found a two-week summer festival devoted to music by young composers. In June 2011, New Music On The Point (NMOP) entered the music world with Fifth House Ensemble as the first ensemble-in-residence. The JACK Quartet has been the primary ensemble-in-residence since 2012.

NMOP emphasizes the creation and performance of new music for voice, reflecting Jenny Beck’s long-time love of vocal music. From the festival’s beginning, Philadelphia-based mezzo-soprano, Jennifer Beattie, coached participant singers as well as teaching seminars on writing for voice. Soprano Tony Arnold joined the faculty in 2017. The composition faculty members are drawn from among the most exciting American composers active today, with widely varying aesthetics and pedagogical approaches. The program is rounded out by exciting Master Artists—both composers and performers—who come for intensive, two-day residencies.

Composer/pianist Amy Williams became Artistic Director in 2015 and composer Kerrith Livengood has been Assistant Director since 2013. Composer Juraj Kojs was the guest Artistic Director in 2023.